Senior guard leads Convent to title

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Convent of the Sacred Heart High senior led her team to a state championship as a freshman and three years later, she's considered one of the Bay Area's top guards.

So when upstart Gateway somersaulted into the Bay Counties League championship game on Friday at Kezar Pavilion, Hum-Traverso had a clear and emphatic message for her team -- especially because Convent beat Gateway twice earlier in the season.

"We had to go for the jugular right from the start," Hum-Traverso said.

The Cubs obliged, racing to a 16-3 lead en route to a 46-39 win.

Hum-Traverso, 5-foot-5, led the charge with 10 of her game-high 26 points in the first quarter. It was a dominating performance -- no one else on the team had more than six points -- as she made 14 of 16 free-throw attempts and added seven steals and six assists.

Her performance carried the Cubs (22-4) to their second BCL playoff title, the other was in 2002, the season before Hum-Traverso enrolled. In 2003, the year Convent won the state Division V title, the Cubs lost in the BCL final.

"The whole time here has been awesome, but this is a great way to end our BCL career," said Hum-Traverso, one of four Convent seniors.

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Convent of the Sacred Heart's Jen Hum-Traverso drives as Gateway's Alyson Szeto can't stop her in the second quarter of play. Convent of the Sacred Heart High School vs. Gateway High School at Kezar Pavilion. Convent of the Sacred Heart wins BCL championship.
Event on 2/24/06 in San Francisco.
Darryl Bush / The Chronicle MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/ -MAGS OUT less

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Convent of the Sacred Heart's Jen Hum-Traverso drives as Gateway's Alyson Szeto can't stop her in the second quarter of play. Convent of the Sacred Heart High School vs. Gateway High School ... more

Photo: Darryl Bush

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Convent of the Sacred Heart's teammates mob Jen Hum-Traverso (second from right-being hugged) after Convent of the Sacred Heart High School beats Gateway High School at Kezar Pavilion. Convent of the Sacred Heart wins BCL championship.
Event on 2/24/06 in San Francisco.
Darryl Bush / The Chronicle MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SF CHRONICLE/ -MAGS OUT less

bcl25_0005_db.JPG
Convent of the Sacred Heart's teammates mob Jen Hum-Traverso (second from right-being hugged) after Convent of the Sacred Heart High School beats Gateway High School at Kezar Pavilion. ... more

Photo: Darryl Bush

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Senior guard leads Convent to title

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It was all about the start as Gateway (19-8), coming off a stirring 51-50 semifinal win over round-robin champion Urban, outscored the Cubs the final three quarters.

"She's a special player," Gateway coach Michael Coffino said. "She took care of things whenever we made a run."

Twice Hum-Traverso drove through the Gateway defense and converted three-point plays when the lead was cut to single digits.

The Gators fought hard and eventually closed to 44-39 with 1:15 left on a turnaround jumper by Camila Rosen, but Hum-Traverso essentially iced it with two free throws with 35.3 seconds left.

Boys

International 62, Stuart Hall 53: For the second straight season, International (25-3) took the BCL playoff title.

The Jaguars got 17 points apiece from Seaver Kyaw and Sam Allen and 13 from Josh Merritt, who hit four straight free throws in the final minute, as they beat Stuart Hall (19-8) for the third time this season.

Stephen Powell had 18 points for Stuart Hall, which rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit, twice cutting it to four, the last time at 57-53 with 1:01 remaining on a layup from Badi Gila.

Allen stole the ball twice in the final minute and Merritt converted his free throws. International went 14-0 in BCL play after competing in the lower Tier II Division last year.